Author: Tania Lefrançois

What is a curtain wall?

In order to demystify what a curtain wall is, we called upon an expert on the matter at Epsylon, Simon Manucci, director of sales, who granted us a little interview. Here are his answers! 

A curtain wall is a type of exterior cladding, usually in glass and aluminum, which offers maximum fenestration which is very efficient in terms of resistance to temperature, air, rain, condensation or any other weather.

At Epsylon, our curtain wall is prefabricated in our factory, and then installed on site. It’s made up of modules which are stacked, and which arrive at the site already ready with all the components, including the sealant. Once the module arrives on site, it is therefore ready to be installed quickly.

Otherwise, there is also the conventional curtain wall, which is used less on a large scale with us. This is manufactured but not assembled in the factory; and it will therefore be necessary to assemble it during installation on the site.

 

How is a curtain wall installed?

We often get asked how to install a curtain wall. So here are the explanations and a demonstration video.

There is someone on the floor upstairs, who operates machinery (crane or other) to be able to lift the module. It is a module that has been prefabricated in the factory, as explained previously.

They are going to assemble the curtain wall module first, and then they will bring it down again. They’re going to rotate it, because that’s the outer front part of the curtain wall that was facing them initially.

To protect everything, they put the glass up and then they change sides. Then, they come to embed the whole. These are male, female, left, right, top and bottom parts. So they put the module in place, then lower it to nest it in the one below. Then they move on to the next module. Here’s the video showing a visual of this installation.

 

What is the difference between a curtain wall and a window wall?

The window wall

A distinction must be made between the curtain wall and the window wall.

The window wall is a window that is installed between two slabs. It is therefore glass that is installed between two slabs, then it is sealed all around, with a sealant to make it watertight.

The curtain wall

The curtain wall, on the other hand, is installed in front of the concrete slabs, and therefore offers a building envelope that is more waterproof, continuous and uniform than the window wall. This is a feature highly appreciated by architects as much for its technical performance as for its architectural qualities!

The curtain wall system, with prefabricated modules as we offer at Epsylon, has the particular characteristic of having the pressure balanced. This means that our system has air inlets and outlets, as well as dripping water.

The big advantage is that when there is water entering the caps of the system, the water will drip out, and the air will also circulate to dry out the spandrels.

 

The thermal performance of the curtain wall

Due to climatic conditions in North America, Epsylon only offers the curtain wall with balanced pressure.

With the curtain wall, we also talk about thermal performance, with the choice of glasses and low-e. The low-e is a metallic film which is applied to the glass. The latter offers better thermal performance and also allows you to play with the brightness that enters from the outside to the inside. By the way, there are shading coefficients. The more light is present, the more there will be thermal gains in the building. Several variations of these aspects are therefore possible.

Epsylon curtain walls are subjected to thermal simulations which are carried out by specialized firms. The simulations are made with glass, aluminum, stone and other options, depending on the particular design of the project. These simulations are made to verify if the characteristics meet the required thermal requirements of the customer.

 

The spandrel parts: a world of possibilities for architects!

The spandrel parts of the curtain wall are those which are opposite to the concrete slab. So the big glass section is vision glass, where people in the building will see from the inside out, and the spandrels are where people can’t see because it’s the floor, ceiling or walls.

The spandrels are the parts where architects can be creative. For example, they will be able to use materials such as aluminum, single or double glass, or even play with other components such as stone, fiber cement components, etc.

So the curtain wall brings a lot of architectural versatility because it is possible to integrate several materials. Architects can play with glasses, with soffits. In terms of geometry, there is also a lot of flexibility.

 

How to estimate the price of a curtain wall?

It is possible to estimate the price of a curtain wall with a minimum of information. The first information to have is that of the dimensions.

It also takes the frame of the building. By knowing the width of the glass, the height and the number of floors, we are able to determine a price per square foot in relation to certain minimum parameters such as widths, heights and the type of glass used.

We must also have information on some characteristics, for example, it is a double glass or a triple glass? There may also be spandrels with simple glass.

Once we have all of these parameters, we are able to give a budget price to the client quickly enough so that they know if they are within their budgets with their current design.

 

Evaluate the quality of a curtain wall

At Epsylon, we often go to an independent laboratory to test our system and make sure it meets all applicable standards. We pass the tests to limit air infiltration, to control steam, to prevent the penetration of rain and condensation inside, etc.

Condensation testing is the primary way in our business to assess the build quality and installation of our curtain wall. We get tested in a real situation (in situ) in a laboratory. For these tests, a full-size curtain wall sample is fabricated. Next, airplane engines are used to recreate the wind factor then we put water in front of the sample, and we test our curtain wall to be sure that the water is repelled and expelled effectively.

Then, we have structural tests: we will move the inside of the curtain wall with fairly pronounced movements, to ensure that we meet the standards in terms of inflections.

These tests ensure that the quality of our product is very good!

Curtain walls have gained a very solid reputation in the commercial construction industry. These efficient, lightweight exterior walls enable bolder design and broader architectural possibilities. But they offer even more advantages, in particular:

1.     Curtain walls maximize the amount of natural light in a building. And with abundant natural light comes a better quality of life for occupants!
2.     They also optimize a building’s interior space, adding 10 to 30 cm of additional area compared to conventional walls.
3.     They are more durable than many other façade coverings. When well maintained, they can last for 50 years or more.
4.     They offer increasingly good protection against air and water infiltration.
5.     They are lighter than conventional walls, only weighing 20 to 30% of traditional construction weight. For this reason, architectural designs can be more flexible and creative.

To enjoy all of these benefits, a prefabricated curtain wall is the best choice. Epsylon is an expert on the topic, and can help you bring your vision to life.

To learn more, click here for a comprehensive article on the advantages of curtain walls (in French).

Quebec, Thursday January 7th 2021 – 

Following the provincial government’s announcement regarding new measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, the construction industry in Quebec will remain operational during the confinement period from January 9 to February 8, while applying strict sanitary protocols.

Consequently, we are happy to be able to maintain our operations and continue serving our clients to the best of our abilities, while doing our part to limit the spread of the virus.

Here at Epsylon, we are grateful for the trust placed in our industry and are highly committed to putting in place safe working conditions in order to protect the health and safety of all our employees and clients.

Once again, general contractor Magil Construction and promoter MC Finance placed their trust in Epsylon by awarding us the contract for the Roccabella sur la Montagne tower, third phase of the prestigious Roccabella series, in Montreal. This large scale residential project will rise next to the Roccabella 2 tower, another project realized by Epsylon.

In partnership with architects Beique Legault Thuot, our mandate consist in the design, manufacture and installation of this tower’s two curtain wall facades, which will rise up 28 storeys.

This prestigious luxury condominium project will be the last phase of top-end development Roccabella. At Epsylon, we are proud to contribute in offering a comfortable and quality living space focusing on the abundance of natural light to its future residents!

Once again this year, Epsylon was placed 3rd among the most active specialized contractors in the province of Quebec, in the glaziers category. This ranking, published annually by the Champions de la Construction magazine, is a benchmark for companies to position themselves in the industry according to the number of hours worked. Our company thus reinforces its place among the construction leaders in Quebec!

But that’s not all… For the first time ever, Epsylon is ranked among the 100 most active contractors in the province of Quebec, across all categories. Our company was indeed placed at the 93rd rank this year.

It is very rewarding to have been actively contributing in creating jobs in the construction industry in Quebec, and for more than 12 years now.

To view the complete ranking, click here to visit the magazine’s website.

Congratulations to our team!

In these uncertain times, we believe that good news is always welcome.

Which is why we are proud to announce that Epsylon has just signed on for the new National Bank tower project, in Montreal!

The National Bank tower will be nothing less than the biggest project undertaken by Epsylon to this day, with more than 6600 unitized curtain wall modules to produce and install! We are very happy to have been selected by general contractor Broccolini to take part in this project and we cannot wait to begin construction works on site. In the meantime, our team is already busy with coordination and technical drawings while working remotely in collaboration with architectural firm MSDL.

Stay tuned to watch the evolution of this major construction site in Montreal. Rest assured that we will be more than ready when construction resumes, but until then, we keep working remotely in order to protect the health and safety of everyone.

Congratulations to our team for this wonderful project, and many thanks to Broccolini for their trust!

To all our clients, suppliers and partners,

Just like you, we are closely monitoring the evolution of the COVID-19 situation. Following the recent measures taken by the government to limit the spread of the coronavirus, we wish to inform you that our offices and our plant will be closed as of 4pm on March 24th until April 13th inclusively. We will also cease all activity on our construction sites during this period.

During this three-week closing, our offices will still be in activity, with the majority of our team working remotely. Our objective is to keep serving you well and to maintain our operations in the best way possible, while protecting the health and security of our employees and partners.

It is important to note that during this period, we will not accept any material delivery from our suppliers. Deliveries will have to be postponed until the reopening of our offices, which is scheduled on April 14th. However, this date will have to be confirmed, since we will monitor the situation closely and will decide to reopen our offices when government recommendations allow it.

Please note that our Pompano Beach, Florida offices and plant are still open until further notice.

For any question, you can write an email anytime at info@epsylon.ca. We will answer your questions or transfer your email to the right person.

We reiterate our engagement to provide you with the best service possible, even during those uncertain times. We will keep monitoring the situation closely and and will provide periodical updates.

Thank you for your usual collaboration and our best wishes to everyone.

The management of Epsylon Concept

As we’ve been doing for four years now, we were present at University of Montreal on January 29th for the Epsylon awards, which are given to second-year students of the bachelor’s degree in architecture as part of one of their workshops, where they must present a solar mesh project that is designed to be attached to eventual curtain walls.

As donors, it is our pleasure to take part in the jury each year in order to select the winning projects. This year, in addition to the aesthetics and performance criteria, the students had to deliver a project of a phyto-architectural nature.

Since 2016, Epsylon has entered the major donors circle of the Faculty of urban planning of the University of Montreal with the creation of a perennial fund destined to support teaching activities of architecture students for several years to come.

Congratulations to all the students, who have, once again, impressed us with their remarkable work!

Sustainable development and transparency of materials being among their priorities, it was all natural for Epsylon to step in as a leader and actively take part in the development of the new product environmental declarations (PED) produced by AluQuebec.

At the number of four, these generic PED’s will be allowed for use exclusively by the eight companies that took part in their elaboration, including Epsylon. They will especially allow us to meet the requirements of sustainable development certifications that are asked by general contractors and architects, such as LEED v4, WELL, Zero Carbon, Living Building Challenge and BREEAM.

Epsylon will thus be able to favorably position their products in projects aiming for a high level of sustainable development performance. We will indeed be better equipped and prepared than the competition to meet our clients requirements in that matter. Do not hesitate to ask for more information about this for your project!

To read the complete article in Voir Vert magazine on the subject, click here (in French only).